Establishment of eco-indicators for major energy sources in Tanzania

In Tanzania, both individual and industries have a wide range of energy sources to choose from the available large spectrum of energy sources. However each energy source affects the environment to an extent which is different from the other. On other hand environmental protection awareness is increasing among common people and law makers in the country, yet up to now there is no proper or known methodology/standard to compare environmental impact of different materials, energy sources etc. The objective of this research was to provide means of comparing environmental performance of energy sources by establishing eco-indicators for all major sources of energy used in Tanzania, using available Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) data. The study reveals that there is no comprehensive LCA data for energy sources or information which can yield LCA data with ease in Tanzania. However, full LCA of coal was conducted, based on field work data and information collected from literature. Based on eco-indicator99 methodology and from the LCA data an eco-indicator for coal based electricity was calculated to be 82 mill points (0.082 points) per kWh produced. It was then concluded that, this should be considered to be an initial step towards building up a comprehensive list of eco-indicators for all energy resources in Tanzania. Recommendations on future studies to compliment efforts to establish e co-indicators for energy sources and other engineering material used or produced in Tanzania were made.